"What Could Your Next
Job Be? Findings From the 1998 Minnesota Survey of New and Evolving Occupations"
Minnesota Department of
Economic Security
Summary
In an attempt to supplement the traditional
DOL occupational descriptions, the Research & Planning Office conducted
a statewide survey to identify New and Evolving Occupations (NEOs) and
their associated characteristics. Employers were asked to identify occupations
within their firm that fit the following definitions:
-
New occupations are those where skill
sets (knowledge, skills, abilities and work activities) are so new thatthey
are not captured by present occupational classifications.
-
Evolving occupations are established
occupations that have seen a rapid change in their skill sets in recent
years and, as a result, require updated information.
The employer sample was stratified by firm
size, location, and industry sector. The 965 respondents submitted 492
job titles, 315 of which satisfied the definition of a NEO as listed above.
For expository purposes, analysts categorized these into six larger occupational
clusters: high tech, industrial safety, management and administration,
quality control, health service, and printing and publishing. Several in-depth
case studies were conducted within each cluster. The study attempted to
identify prevalence of NEOs by industry sector and occupational groups
and identified a positive correlation of prevalence with firm size. Information
was obtained to identify the driving forces behind creation of these occupations;
i.e., technological advances, customer needs, increased competition, legal
requirements, or changes in the workplace. Skill requirements were collected
using roll-ups of O*NET variables.
How is O*NET being
used?
O*NET skills, abilities and generalized
work activity roll-ups were used in an effort to keep the survey size manageable
and enhance response rates while maintaining comparability with existing
O*NET occupations.
Who is your target
population?
The target population for the NEO Project
was career explorers, employers needing workers in these emerging occupations,
program planners, and policy makers.
What kind of results
is O*NET helping you to achieve?
O*NET helped us identify new workplace
opportunities and trends and provided a basis of comparability with previously
identified occupations.
What are the related
program initiatives?
This study built on a previous survey of
NEOs that used another, related skills taxonomy. Results of this survey
will be incorporated into career exploration tools such as Minnesota's
Internet System for Education and Employment Knowledge (ISEEK).
Is your product,
program or service available for others to use?
Information developed and learned during
the project has been incorporated into an HTML report that is available
on the Web (http://www.mnworkforcecenter.org/lmi/neo/)
and for download as a *.pdf file (http://www.mnworkforcecenter.org/lmi/neo/neo.pdf).
To order a paper copy, please contact the Minnesota Department of Economic
Security, Research and Planning Office, 390 North Roberts Street, Saint
Paul, MN 55101 or call 651-282-2714.
What other strategies
make your product, program or service successful?
High response rates on information intensive
surveys such as this are difficult to achieve. It was essential to minimize
the number of skill categories to make the survey manageable while maintaining
comparability with the original O*NET taxonomy.
Contact Information:
Marc Breton
Career Information Unit
Department of Economic Security
390 North Robert Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
tele: 651-296-2072
e-mail: mbreton@ngwmail.des.state.mn.us
